she’d been lost and found again.
“Well, I think we’ve had our quota of bad luck, with runaway rafts and vanishing grannies!” chuckled Papa, standing up on the raft as the streamlined flotilla continued along the river. “So I have every reason to believe it will be plain sailing from now on.”
“HOORAY!” cheered the Browns for the third time that day.
Unfortunately, just as Papa was giving his speech, the raft passed under a low-hanging tree branch. The branch itself was high enough to clear easily, but the bees’ nest dangling from it collided with Papa’s head and joined the otters in their removals upstream. Unlike the otters, the bees rather liked where they were living, and were none too happy to get bashed off their branch on to a heap of wet grass that smelled like fish and elderly otters.
“BZZZZZ!” the bees buzzed angrily, pouring out of the nest. Then they gathered into a swarm and zoomed furiously towards the otters, who all squeaked in alarm and dived deep underwater before fleeing upstream.
With the rafts otter-free, the bees flew back to their branch and set about building a new nest, and without otters to propel them forward, the rafts quietly drifted back downstream too.
When the Browns finally arrived at their new home, they were a lot lighter than when they left, having first lost a raft of food, lost and found Grandma Maple and then lost everything else in a cloud of angry bees. But as they hauled themselves on to the sprawling island of twigs and branches that was Cottonwood Lodge, the family knew it had all been worth it.
“Now, don’t worry about our stuff,” panted Papa, standing at the entrance to the den and looking rather bedraggled. “We will find new bedding and build up our stores again in no time.”
“The important thing is that we made it here in one piece,” added Mama, staggering up to join her husband and wringing out her tail. “Now let’s catch our breath before we explore our new home!”
“HOORAY!” cheered the Browns, and they collapsed in a heap.
Moments later the otter family bustled through the main tunnel of the den in much the same way as they always did, with squeals of “OUCH!” and “EEEK!” and “OI! GET OFF MY HEAD!” But once they had all squeezed through the entrance, Cottonwood Lodge opened up into a spacious reception chamber, with a freshwater pool and mounds of moss for lounging around on. The chamber was lit through gaps in the twigs above and led off into many other tunnels, into which the Browns scampered excitedly to explore.
“Look at the size of these bed chambers!” gasped Mama, dashing with Papa from one room to the next, patting the mud-caked walls as if she couldn’t believe her eyes. “The pups really can have one each!”
“I take it we’ll be getting rid of the beaver droppings?” said Grandma Maple, poking her head in after them and frowning at the mess on the floor.
“And there’s a whiff of wee that’s making my eyes water,” said Grandpa Bruno, flapping a paw in front of his nose. “Though it doesn’t smell like any beaver I’ve ever encountered.”
“It does need a good clean, but I think it’s wonderful!” said Mama, kissing Papa on the nose and giving him a cuddle. And because the grandparents were also secretly thrilled despite their gripes and grumbles, they did the same.
The four of them made their way back to the central chamber just as the pups returned from their own explorations. The little ones were wide-eyed and breathless, exhilarated by what they’d discovered.
“There’s a mooring pad and a log slide at the back!” yelled Woody, jumping up and down with excitement.
“And there are stepping stones leading all the way to the bank,” gasped Coco. “So we don’t always have to swim outside and get our fur wet needlessly!”
“There’s loads of storage for food!” said Beanie, grinning broadly.
“And we’ve chosen our rooms!” cried Nutmeg and Chestnut, who ran out of two different tunnels and started dancing together, holding paws. “And they’re so far apart we won’t be able to hear or smell each other at all!”
“So you all like your new home?” asked Mama and Papa.
“WE LOVE IT!” cheered the otters, and they all joined in with Nutmeg and Chestnut, holding each other’s paws and dancing round the pool. Mama danced with Papa, Grandma Maple danced with Grandpa Bruno, Woody danced with Beanie, while Coco danced by herself, flicking her fur dreamily and trying to keep it completely dry.
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